I want to get back to using Spark to get fit and to lose a bit of weight. Luckily, it is only ten pounds, but that can be very tricky. More important is doing the ball exercises to strengthen my quads to help my knee arthritis. And I feel ver... Read more

WELL, Last blog was two years ago. Since that time, I have developed knee arthritis and I wonder if all the hill walking I did back then aggravated it. I did another blog on a place called Wordpress. So, I did continue writing for these last tw... Read more

1/2 cup of dry oatmeal is 150 calories. I love muesli, and turning the 1/2 cup of dry oatmeal into 1/2 cup of muesli, can make it anywhere from 200 to 300 or even more calories. I have computed various combinations using the spark recipe maker ... Read more

Yesterday I found milk to be very interesting, today it is popcorn.
I had a yen for popcorn around 4pm, my "bad" time of day. I do not like air popped or microwave, but like the old fashioned popped in oil stuff.
On my shelf I found t... Read more

I love milk.
When I enter it on my tracker, I dutifully record one cup of 3.25% milk. But I did not get the .25%!!!
So, I decided to research this 3.25% milk business. It turned out this milk was only 140 calories. I went to the item... Read more

I find it fun to measure everything to 100 grams, even milk. Some items have to be 50 grams, and some 200. If they are 200, I will enter it twice.
What this 100 gram plan does is force me to be conscious of how much I am putting on my pl... Read more

It is very important to keep changing how we use Spark, to keep it fresh and alive. My new plan is to list everything in 100 gram increments, since most of the foods on Spark are listed that way. Also, it will force me to weigh things.
I ... Read more

I was so proud of myself to do Coach Nicole's 7 minute exercise band routine. The first exercise, where you raise the band over your head, she warns you just to go as high as you can comfortably. Well, I overdid it, and now I have a little pain ... Read more

I made a three bean salad for myself, chock full of all that fiberosity we are supposed to eat. I used a lot of garlic, because I love it. However, the taste in my mouth was just too strong, so I had to eat a yoplait and a half for dessert, tr... Read more

Saturday night I was all alone for dinner. I had just gotten home from a babysitting stint at my daughter's, and I was too tired to cook. So, first I thought I would have yogurt, bananas, and strawberries. A healthy dinner, right? But halfwa... Read more

I am really enjoying the book, Julie and Julia. I got out my old copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I have the same edition that Julie "stole" from her mother. I can look up the recipes she talks about.
In addition, I took out a ... Read more

The gal in the Julie and Julia movie inspired me to get back to my own blog!!! I got the book from the library, and I am looking forward to reading it. We will see, I am a very picky reader.
I tracked all my foods yesterday, they are all... Read more

I seem to have taken a long break from Spark, and didn't even realize how long it had been until I looked at the date on this blog. September 26????
I watched Julie and Julia for the second time last night, and so I am inspired to get back ... Read more

Here I am again. I did really well yesterday until going to a restaurant for dinner. Why is it so hard to make good choices at that time??
It is very foggy here, wet and horrible, and so walking is not appealing.... Read more

How odd I missed the blog yesterday. And almost today, too. I am doing the foods on Spark and then just entering the calories on My Fitness Plan. I hope this works for me.
Pros: I was very hungry by 11 am and ate a hard boiled egg, and ... Read more